Riding Lessons
by Smarty Cat
Summary: [On Hiatus] A gift from her sisters lands Akane in the local stable. How will Ranma spend his days without a tomboy to taunt?
1. Akane's Journal

This is just the beginning to my very first Ranma fic. The rest of the fic will not be written in first person form and will go back in time to reveal how Akane came to her conclusion. Between school and club obligations, I don't have that much time to write, and I am not the world's fastest writer in the first place. How fast this fic gets written will depend on how much interest you show in it so please review. It takes only a few minutes of your time and will make my day. I welcome and thrive off of private emails if you prefer not to review on the site.

This also has nothing to do with Vincent Seifert's _Taming of the Horse, _though it is an absolutely wonderful fic and I highly recommend it. This is my own creation and completely original.

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Smarty Cat

smartycat9383@yahoo.com

1-29-02

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AKANE'S JOURNAL

Every little girl dreams about a knight in shining armor on a white horse, right?

Well not me.

I couldn't care less about the knight. Boys were useless perverts. I just wanted the horse.

You see, unlike most other little girls, I actually knew something about horses. Like, to be strong enough to carry a man in armor, the horse would have to be big and bulky and slow. Although I'm sure it would have a wonderful disposition, that's not exactly the kind of horse I'd dreamed about. And aren't little girls allowed to be shallow in their fantasies?

What was up with the horse always being white anyway?

I wanted a black one.

Most horses are only white when they get old. Besides, a healthy black horse in the sunlight is one of the most beautiful things in the world. Brilliant shimmering rainbows hidden under all that black hair are visible in the sunlight.

Have you ever seen a white horse give off rainbows?

I didn't think so.

And I wanted a stallion.

Not that I have anything against female horses, but "wild black mare" just doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it? And "wild black gelding" sounds even worse.

I wanted a wild black stallion.

What I got was Ranma.

Funny how dreams come true, isn't it?


	2. The Gift

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Disclaimer: I would love to be the highest taxed person in Japan. Really I would. Unfortunately I am a mere recent high school graduate from Mississippi. That should tell you everything you need to know about **_my_** finances.

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A.N. This chapter has been revised slightly and lengthened. I hope you find it a bit more satisfying than its previous incarnation.

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Riding Lessons

by

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Smarty Cat

smartycat9383@yahoo.com

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Chapter 1 -- _The Gift_

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"Oh, Nabiki, how wonderful! It'll make her **_so_** happy!"

"Yeah, I thought she might like it. Got it for half price too. Uh...you did get Dr. Tofu to foot the bill for this though, right?"

"Oh, yes. He seemed so excited and happy about it too."

"I'm sure he was."

Ranma Saotome glanced up warily from his manga as the low excited whispers of the two young women in the kitchen floated through the open doorway. He shifted in his comfortable nest of floor cushions, barely restraining a snort when he heard Kasumi's remark about Tofu, but he could not quite shake off the sense of impending doom looming over his head.

Nabiki plotting something wasn't really that unusual. Heck, it was an hourly occurrence at the very least! But **_Kasumi_**? Sweet, kind, seemingly oblivious Kasumi was planning something with her devious younger sister, and Ranma had a bad, **_bad_** feeling about it. Nothing good ever came of consorting with the middle Tendo.

"It's about time, isn't it?"

"Oh my! I didn't realize it was so late! How will I ever explain to Father about supper?"

"I'm sure he can put his little girl's happiness before his stomach for a few hours."

"Well, if you really think he won't mind..."

"I promise."

"She should be home any minute. We really should get ready."

"Right. Just let me collect the merchandise."

As their footsteps approached Ranma, he quickly buried his nose back in his book but kept a watchful eye peeked over the top. Nabiki appeared in the kitchen doorway and looked at the pigtailed boy with an undeniably speculative gleam in her eyes. He fidgeted and broke out in a nervous sweat under her scrutiny, automatically tensing himself for...something. Anything in that house that affected Akane always ending up affecting him, and they had said that it would make Akane happy. And it came so close on the heels of the failed wedding that he couldn't help but wonder...

Ranma "eeped" when Kasumi appeared beside her sister and their gazes suddenly focused on him with laser-like intensity. He slowly rose to his feet among the cushions, now forgotten manga dangling from one hand. They started toward him, their faces firmly set into their respective customary masks of indifference and blank cheerfulness.

The pigtailed boy quickly ran through all of his options. Fighting them definitely wasn't a choice. They were both untrained and girls to boot. He could use the Saotome Secret Technique and run away, but that would bee completely pointless considering who he was up against. He'd have to come back home eventually, and Nabiki would almost certainly be waiting for him. **_That _**was a truly horrifying prospect, so Ranma did the only thing that he possibly could do. He kept to his longstanding tradition of dealing with advancing females and froze like a deer caught in the headlights of a semi.

The two sisters kept advancing as Ranma became aware of footsteps and a soft scrabbling noise behind him. His eyes widened. A rear attack! He was being ambushed! And there was only one person it could be. Fearing the almighty wrath of the Tomboy but refusing to be handed over to her like some gift, his eyes darted desperately for some means of escape. Behind, forwards, and sideways were not going to work. He would have to go up.

As Ranma leapt over the sisters, he was surprised to find himself propelled through the air with extra force. He managed a swift glance back to see Nabiki with her arms raised over her head before he hit the nearest wall and slid down, blinking dazedly. Nabiki had thrown him out of their way?! He wasn't their intended target?!

**__**

Akane!

"I'm home!"

The familiar cheerful voice rang through the air as Akane flung back the sliding paper doors, and it distantly registered in Ranma's mind that he had been sitting in front of the door leading to the porch.

Akane blinked in surprise when her two older sisters all but pounced on her once she had stepped past the strange pile of cushions in the floor. There was a flash of red in the corner of her eyes over their shoulders, and she threw a startled glance at the crumpled heap of fiance on the floor before Nabiki grabbed her face with both hands and stared into her eyes intently.

Ranma stood up and slowly began to edge toward the open door and the freedom it promised. Nabiki and Kasumi had lost both their minds, and it was in his best interest to stay as far away as possible until the missing gray matter was found. Akane would just have to help them search. Better her than him.

"So, Akane, do you still have what it takes?"

Akane stared wide-eyed at her older sister, noting the narrowed eyes and tight, secretive smile that appeared as she tightened her already uncomfortable grip on her face almost painfully and pulled the shorter girl up on her toes.

"Huh?" she squeaked, confusion and a hint of fear evident in her voice.

Ranma's conscience decided to give him a good solid kick in the rear at that moment. Akane might be uncute and a tomboy, but she still did not deserve being trapped in Nabiki's clutches. And when she sounded like **_that_**, some part of him just demanded that he take care of her.

The teenaged martial arts prodigy gulped, gathered his courage, and turned away from the safety of the yard. He strode determinedly toward the group of women, eyes flashing with blue fire. He had to struggle to keep his aura in check when he saw the blank, almost hypnotized look in Akane's eyes as her limp body practically dangled from her sister's hands. One powerful hand snaked out to grab Nabiki's shoulder.

"Oh, Nabiki! Stop playing games."

Kasumi's mild voice froze Ranma mid-movement. Nabiki turned to her older sister, an exaggerated pout clearly visible on her face.

"You never let me have any fun," Nabiki sighed ruefully, before shifting to a one-handed grip on Akane's chin and digging in the pocket of her cutoffs with her free hand. She pulled out a piece of paper and flashed it in her captive little sister's face with a triumphant flourish. Deep brown eyes focused on the slender white rectangle blankly. As the words printed on it began to make sense, Akane's mouth fell open.

Then she screamed.

Loudly.

Ranma started violently, fear and adrenaline pumping through his already battle ready system, but he was the only one of the room's occupants that did not seem to expect the noise. As he fought to bring his protective urges back under control, Nabiki remained coolly unfazed at the blast of sound in her face while Kasumi smiled at them all benevolently.

Akane screamed again and wrenched her head free before launching herself at her sister. Nabiki, while prepared for an enthusiastic response, was not expecting such a strong tackle and fell backwards...right onto an unfortunate Ranma. 

The three teens fought and twisted into a tangled pile of limbs. Nabiki managed to grab one of Ranma's discarded pillows and beat the other two away before rolling free. Akane was sprawled over a frozen Ranma, her face buried in his neck. She pulled back and eagerly propped herself up on the madly blushing boy's chest. Her eyes were wide and shimmering with excitement as she watched Kasumi pluck the wrinkled paper from Nabiki's hand and smooth it. Nabiki pulled her knees under her body and gracefully rose to kneel at Kasumi's side as the oldest girl settled on the floor, carefully arranging her skirt. Akane dragged herself closer to her sisters, effectively covering an even larger amount of Ranma's body.

Her voice was little more than a breathless whisper when she spoke, "Is it real?"

Nabiki snorted and tossed her hair. "It better be."

"And it's for me? It's really mine?"

"We thought you deserved a special treat after everything that's happened."

There was no hint of reproach in Kasumi's mild voice, but Ranma still flinched. He knew that she was referring to him and the insanity that always accompanied his presence. Nabiki shifted uncomfortably and stared at him inscrutably, no doubt also thinking he was at fault for everything that had happened since his appearance on their doorstep.

A blindingly bright smile dawned on Akane's face as she flung herself into her sisters' arms. Ranma choked as all the air was forced from his lungs due to Akane's ill-placed knee. When he could finally breathe again, the pigtailed martial artist wasted precious oxygen to gasp out a protesting "Tomboy!"

The 'tomboy' was happily oblivious to her hapless fiance's current predicament. She was far to busy bouncing around the room in fits of joy and dragging her sisters with her. After thoroughly hugging Nabiki and Kasumi, Akane rounded on Ranma. He was slowly peeling himself off of the floor while silently cursing females in general and was hardly prepared to find himself in Akane's arms. She hugged him tightly and pulled back to look in his eyes.

"I'm so happy!"

Of course, she immediately turned her head, addressing that statement and the beaming smile that accompanied it to everyone present, but Ranma's brain had already completely shut down, and that minor detail was lost in his mind. It made no difference that Akane had hugged everyone in the room. She had said that she was happy while she was in **_his_** arms. And she was so warm and soft and fit so nicely against him, even when she was crushing all the from his body...

"Dad! **Daddy_!_**"

The teen stood frozen as he watched Akane pull away from him and skip out of the room, excitedly calling for her father. As Kasumi bustled out of the room to finally start supper, Nabiki smirked over Ranma's apparent stupor, and Soun's joyous wail of pride rose over the neighborhood, Ranma remained still and basked in the lingering glow of Akane's smile. A small smile slowly appeared on his own face.

Maybe this thing--whatever it was--wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. Misgivings (rough draft)

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Disclaimer: I joined the ranks of America's penniless college students two weeks ago. I own nothing but the plot and a few odd characters.

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A.N. This is by no means the final version of this chapter. It's actually more along the lines of a second draft and will probably be divided in two and fleshed out, but I thought I'd go on and put it up since I won't be able to update for real for an undetermined amount of time. I'm really sorry that I've neglected this fic and all you wonderful fans, but my writing time right now is practically nil. I'm a full-time student in an honors program with a part time job and a daily two-hour commute. Homework takes up most of my free time, but I am working on this fic between classes. I have no intentions of abandoning it. Be patient with me, and if you really think I'm taking too long between updates, email me privately. If I can't pop out a new chapter in a reasonable amount of time, I'll at least give you some sneak peaks of upcoming events. Thanks so much for your continued support and interest. I love you all.

For Daphne

For encouraging me and for asking without saying a word

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Riding Lessons

by

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Smarty Cat

smartycat9383@yahoo.com

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Chapter 2 -- _Misgivings_

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Maybe this thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

Ranma snorted. What **_had_** he been thinking? Two days of a hyper Akane had worn off whatever effects that hug had induced in him. And of all of the things for her to be so ridiculously giddy over, why did it have to be **_riding_** lessons? Couldn't Nabiki and Kasumi have picked something a little less girly as a present for Akane? Something they could have enjoyed toge--

Ranma firmly squashed that thought. Like he wanted to spend time with that uncute tomboy. Hah!

And Nabiki certainly wasn't helping the situation.

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Ranma looked over his shoulder at Nabiki curiously. "What was that thing anyway?"

"Three months worth of free riding lessons at Dragonheart Stables." She smiled slyly. "And I'm so proud that my little sister's getting a head start!"

Ranma eyed her suspiciously but asked the question he knew she was expecting anyway. "What do you mean?"

Her smile widened into a rather evil smirk. "Just that Akane obviously already knows how to straddle--oh, excuse me, that's vulgar--I mean sit astride a horse."

***

Ranma felt his face heating up merely from thinking about Nabiki's remark. And everyone called **_him_** a pervert!

He scowled and adjusted his position on the school wall. Why was Akane taking so long today anyway?

A flyer smacked into his face, and the frustrated martial artist peeled it off with a grimace. One glance at the prominent picture on the sheet of paper turned the grimace into large, shimmery eyes and a watering mouth.

This was absolutely perfect!

The sound of Akane's voice drifted to his ears, and he hopped off the fence. This was even more perfect. Two girls were guaranteed to get more free food than one.

"Akane! Look at this! The ice cream shop is having a sale today..." The boy's voice trailed off as his fiancee zoomed by him, calling back over her shoulder that she was going to be late.

Oh yeah.

Akane's first lesson was today after school. Ranma's shoulders slumped, and he crushed the flyer in his hands.

It wasn't like he'd **_really_** wanted Akane to go with him anyway.

***

The shorthaired girl felt a momentary twinge of guilt about blowing off Ranma like that. She knew he wasn't happy about the arrangement, but she needed to get out of his shadow. She was tired of being just another of Ranma's fiancees, and an inferior one at that.

Now that she had a chance to be the best at something again there was now way she was going to give it up. And there were other, more personal, reasons for her to take up riding again.

Akane slid to a breathless stop in front of the entrance to Dragonheart Stables. She took a deep breath and composed herself before stepping forward into a world that was both strange and new and comfortingly familiar.

Paths of packed dirt divided areas of lush, low grass into neat geometric shapes. A few people were scattered here and there, all of them accompanied by a horse.

Oh, the horses! Akane's face broke into an eager grin. Equine beauties of all sizes and colors were at her fingertips. She was closer to achieving one of her childhood dreams than ever before.

"Hello. Are you Akane Tendo?"

Akane jerked as the slightly accented voice interrupted her reverie. She turned around and looked up into the open and friendly face of a blonde woman. She nodded while quickly taking in the woman's paddock boots, jodhpurs, polo shirt, and tight French braid.

Licking her lips to moisten her suddenly dry mouth, Akane breathed out a muted "yes" and dug into her pocket for the slip of paper that had brought her there.

"It's all right," the woman said, putting her hand on Akane's arm. She glanced at the school uniform's flowing skirt and raised an eyebrow. "Do you have something...more suitable to wear?"

Akane laughed sheepishly and held up a duffel bag. The woman clapped her hands together and motioned for the girl to follow her.

"My name's Karen. I'm one of the private instructors here. I believe your sisters said you have a special interest in show jumping?"

"And cross-country and eventing, but I didn't know if you could offer that here since you're so close to the city."

"We have a few trails set up with jumps, but you won't be able to ride on those until a little farther along in your lessons." She pushed open a door leading into what appeared to be a locker room. "You can keep your stuff in here. I'll wait outside while you change clothes."

Akane sat down on one of the benches in front of the group of lockers and took a deep breath before reaching into her bag. Several minutes later she stood in front of the mirror, studying her reflection. Sleeveless black turtleneck, tan breeches that hugged her trim hips like a second skin, and tall, shiny black leather riding boots clinging to her legs. She blinked. The figure in the mirror looked surprisingly womanly. As she raised her hand to one flushed cheek, Akane could not help but think that she wished Ranma could see the tomboy now.

***

Ranma glanced up grumpily as the sounds of Akane bouncing through the front gate echoed through the house. She was screaming again, excitedly calling for her sisters. He shoved himself to his feet and stalked out onto the porch.

And stopped short.

Akane was practically glowing with happiness. She was talking animatedly to a gently smiling Kasumi.

Karen assigned Duchess to me. She's a chestnut warmblood and one of the more advanced horses. Isn't it wonderful?!"

Nabiki stepped out into the sunlight, stretching lazily. She glanced mischievously at her little sister. "So you've still got what it takes?"

Akane tossed her head haughtily and struck a mock sexy pose. "I've got all that and more!"

Her older sister arched an eyebrow and looked away with feigned indifference. "Meet anyone special?"

Ranma blinked as Akane turned bright pink. She pressed her fingers together shyly then burst out "Oh, Nabiki, he's gorgeous! All that thick hair and that body! I've never seen such a perfect male before!"

Nabiki smirked wickedly. "So you did meet Ryu. He is quite the looker. I thought you might like him."

Akane smiled dreamily as she slowly sank to the floor. She laughed softly. "Like?" And shook her head. "I'm in love."

Ranma felt his heart stop. It was the strangest feeling, the cold numbness that filled his body. He turned away from the three women and walked quietly up to his room.

Nabiki watched him leave through narrowed eyes as her little sister continued to gush to Kasumi about how wonderful her day had been. Neither of them had noticed Ranma hiding in the shadows, and neither of them noticed the small, satisfied smirk that settled on Nabiki's face.

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Hook, line, and sinker.

Oh, this was going to be **_fun_**!


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